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Dr. Laura Schlessinger – confused on 1st Amendment Rights

Dr. Laura Schlessinger,

I am sorry your 1st Amendment rights were trampled. How horrible! But I am confused – when were you arrested, beaten, or when was your show taken off the air? As far as I can tell, you have been able to say exactly what you want to say for the last thirty years. So, please, enlighten me – or better yet, let me enlighten you.

With any right there comes responsibility and consequences. As far as free speech, you can say what you like no matter how insensitive, crass, hurtful, or stupid – and you have done so for the last three decades. However, free speech is a two-way street. You have the right to free speech, and so do I. Conservatives like you tend to believe that your freedom of speech is the same as freedom from criticism. The two are mutually exclusive. You say what you like, and if I find it offensive or stupid, I can use my freedom of speech to criticize you and contact your advertisers to let them know I will not use their services as long as they align with your show. That is the way it works!

Let’s be clear: you used the N-word on your show and there is no excuse for it. The mouth utters only what the heart allows. I have always felt that you were probably racist, no matter how many pictures you have taken with black men, and I know you dislike gay people, and you probably don’t care much for Latinos, though you probably hire illegal immigrants to clean your house. So, yeah, I don’t care much for you or your show and if I knew who paid you advertising dollars, I would not use their services.

You chose to be a public figure and you have been paid well over the years. Yes, people don’t like you, but that is because you are just disagreeable and most times nasty. That, too, was your choice. So deal with the criticism and stop bemoaning that your first amendment rights were trampled.